Monday, October 12, 2015

20 months since I last updated? Really?! There are many reasons. On February 28, 2014, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I look back now and think that surely that could not have been just a year and 10 months ago, but it was. It was a long road and was very scary at times, but I am now on the other side. I am so thankful to be done with treatment and surgeries. Tomorrow, I will go back to the plastic surgeon for a check up. It will be the first time I've seen him since he did my final reconstruction in March. I can't believe it's been that long, but life has kept me busy since surgery. There are things that I'm not extremely happy with since my reconstruction is complete, but I don't think he can fix them. Since my right side(cancer side) was radiated, the skin is much tighter on that side, making that implant look smaller. I look fine in clothes, though, so I don't think I'm worried enough to try to fix it. Going through surgery for cosmetic reasons has never made much sense to me. I have been through enough surgeries since being diagnosed with cancer to last me a lifetime. I don't like being put to sleep and don't like taking time for recovering. With 5 kids, I don't have much time to sit and rest and recovery takes a lot of sitting and resting! Today, I feel so much better than I ever remember feeling. It makes me wonder how long cancer had been lurking before it was found. I had been so tired and run down for several years. I thought it was just because I was a new mom, but maybe it was because I was sick. Over the past year, I have gone through about 4 surgeries, 6 big chemo treatments, 17 herceptin treatments and 30 rounds of radiation. Thankfully I'm past that and now only see my doctors for follow ups. I get to see them every 3 months for 2 years, then it moves to every 6 months. I have officially been considered NED(no evidence of disease) for 14 months now. I can't believe it's been that long, but at the same time, it feels like it has been so much longer! I am thankful for every single day I have with Ernie and the kids these days. I have come to realize that every day, every hour, every minute is truly a gift from above.